I think she [daughter Shiloh] is fascinating, the choices she is making. And I would never be the kind of parent to force somebody to be something they are not. I think that is just bad parenting. … Children should be allowed to express themselves in whatever way they wish without anybody judging them because it is an important part of their growth. Society always has something to learn when it comes to the way we judge each other, label each other. We have far to go.
—Celebrity Angelina Jolie, who’s previously spoke glowingly about her daughter’s “whatever” approach to gender norms, on what other people can do to be bad parents [via]
L.
Actually – I think she’s right. Some have very far to go. Anyone remember “Ma vie en rose”? The message was quite similar. Let the effing kids live, they’ll usually manage better than control-freak and what-will-the-neighbors-say parents.
well
Agree with first comment. Also, I watched her nightline clip the other morning and she seemed pretty believable when she said nannies don’t spend the night with her family. they arrive in the morning when the parents have to work or whatever. I don’t see the problem. Plus, if she did have a million nannies why isn’t brad also being looked down on? is it ok for Brad Pitt to have nannies take care of his kids but it’s different for la Jolie? hmmmm? Why don’t we blame Brad for letting the kid dress boyish?
hardvice
So, OK. It’s probably a slim chance that Shiloh is actually beginning to manifest a trans identity. So what?
If she grows up cisgendered, letting her explore gender issues hurts her how, exactly? I mean, isn’t the worst case that she… I dunno… has a better understanding of the socially constructed nature of gender norms and stereotypes than most people? Oh, the horrors!
Meanwhile, there’s the off chance that she does grow up transgendered, and in that case Jolie’s approach is going to prove so much healthier than what far too many transpeople have to go through.
I dunno, seems pretty win-win to me. That means she’s right: letting your children explore and experiment with gender is inherently better than forcing them to toe the line.
The nanny headline, meanwhile, is frankly beneath even Queerty.
Liz
I guess Heidi Klum is a nanny addict since she told Us Weekly she had 4 nannies and this was b4 she had her 4th child. In 2008 AJ told VF they had 3 nannies but none of them were live in. After the twins were born Brad told Oprah they hired a baby nurse so they could get some sleep.I’m not familiar with this site I googled Angelina Jolie and this was on the first page. I guess I’ll have to read some more articles to see if this snarky headline is typical.